


The Good Doctor's Assistant

by Up_sideand_down



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-17
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-01-25 10:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1644728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Up_sideand_down/pseuds/Up_sideand_down
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Good Professor Gast hires a new assistant, a young Sephiroth begins to learn about the world in a way he's never imagined. Stuck between Hojo and the Military, Sephiroth and his one-of-a-kind companion start on a path that no one could have predicted the outcome of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yup. Not working on the Raven of SOLDIER again. However, I started writing this long before the Raven so there's that. In case you were wondering there is no sex in this story, no pairings, but one OC. This is simply my idea of what could happen had someone actually been in the labs during Sephiroth's childhood and thought of him as something other than an experiment. 
> 
> If you want all I've written and not just the stuff I posted here go to FF.net. There's 50+ chapters there. I use the same name and everything.

It was well known throughout ShinRa, not just the Science Department, that Hojo was a tyrant to rival the old man at the top. He always got want he wanted, one way or another, and goddess help the person who stood in his way. So it was always with great anxiety and trepidation that his assistants and technicians would inform the greasy hunchback that his prodigy was acting out.

In all honesty, they were terrified of the five-year-old and were reluctant to force him to do anything. It was only after being cowed by a furious Hojo that they would drag him off for whatever testing Hojo had planned for. The pitied and feared the kid, but fear outweighed the pity every time.

Except once.

Sephiroth felt rain for the first time when he was three. It fascinated him. Clean, fresh water that fell from the sky. He couldn’t explain it. He’d asked once, but Hojo told him it wasn’t that important. He would have asked Professor Gast, but he just hadn’t gotten the chance yet. Hojo didn’t like Gast being around Sephiroth so much.

Without fail, whenever he found out it was raining, he would go outside to see it again. It was a miracle to him and he had to be there to witness it every time. Hojo hated it, and that was an added bonus. Made it worth getting wet and cold.

So a five-year-old Sephiroth laid down on the roof in a downpour and waiting for the poor soul who would be sent to get him down. He’d chosen the roof because it was especially hard to get on and off of. It would give him more time, even if it was an obvious place to hide.

Hojo became predictably furious and fumed at the ceiling for a good five minutes before a victim came in. Hojo noted that she was uncharacteristically happy for working as a lab technician, before barking out his demand.

“Get Sephiroth off the roof,” he said. She paused. No yes professor, no right away. She just stopped.

“I don’t work for you,” she said carefully. Hojo stared daggers at her, but she hardly even reacted. “I’m Professor Gast’s new assistant. I work for him. He said to get the microscopes from the main laboratory and here they are.” Hojo was ready to commit murder, again admittedly. “But, I don’t really know the ranking system here and I could use some brownie points,” she said, “Who’s Sephiroth and where shall I fetch him at?” That was better.

“He’s on the roof,” Hojo said, “Get him now.”

“Patience my dear professor,” she said as she left, “It’s a good thing to have in this profession.” As soon as she was gone, Hojo made a mental note to berate Gast for his choice of assistants. She’d learn eventually, he figured, and let the incident go for now.

* * *

 

Sephiroth heard the door open. Someone started climbing the ladder up to where he was hiding. He didn’t move. They took longer when he didn’t react. They expected him to lash and fight a little. This one stopped and didn’t nothing for a long time. Longer than usual. Unable to help himself, he looked up. He hadn’t seen this one before. She didn’t look afraid of him. She looked up at the sky, which was still wringing out a deluge.

Then she laid down right next to him.

Sephiroth fought the urge to spring up. This  _never_ happened. What did she think she was doing? Very carefully, so as not to catch her notice. Sephiroth peered over at his new companion. She laid on the cement roof, in the middle of a puddle, with her hands behind her head and her eyes closed as if she were lounging in the sun. The rain continued.

“What are you doing?” Sephiroth asked at last. She cracked open an eye to look at him.

“Same as you,” she said, “Wondering why rain falls.” She couldn’t possibly know that.

“I know why rain falls,” Sephiroth said.

“Could you tell me then,” she said, “I never got a decent explanation.” Sephiroth scrambled to save his lie.

“Everything falls,” he said. She propped herself up on one elbow.

“You’re right,” she said, “Do you why though?”

“Gravity,” Sephiroth said. She’d shut up and drag him back now. Her face did something strange instead. She smiled as if that had been the nicest thing she’d heard all day.

“You know about gravity?” she said.

“Yes,” Sephiroth said.

“Huh,” she said, “good to know. Thanks for clearing that up.” She laid back down. Sephiroth sat up completely. What was wrong with this one? What did she want?

“What are you doing?” Sephiroth asked again.

“I’m trying to guess where the next drop will fall,” she said, “I’m terrible at it.” He watched her for a moment.

“Why?” he asked.

“Well, now that I know why it falls, and how it falls, and how fast it falls, I want to know where it will fall,” she said, “but it’s really impossible to know before it happens so I have to guess.” Sephiroth felt a small amount of excitement bubbling in him. She’d said the magic words. She knew how rain worked. Someone had solved they mystery and they thought it was important. It might be his only chance.

“You know how the rain works,” he said.

“Mmm-hmmm,” she said.

“How?” he asked. She sat up.

“Why don’t we go back inside and I’ll tell you along the way,” she said.

“I don’t want to go back yet,” Sephiroth said.

“I didn’t say we had to be quick about it,” she said. The arch in her brow said something that resonated with Sephiroth’s knack to irritate Hojo. He liked it, but couldn’t explain why. He was only five after all. He nodded and stood up.

* * *

 

“Hojo, she’s been here maybe two hours,” Gast said, “she hardly knows the layout, much less who you are. Cut her some slack, she’ll learn.”

“Just make sure you hire better technicians in the future,” Hojo snapped.

“I am,” Gast said, “she’s one of the best in her field. That’s why she’s here.”

“Not from what I can see,” Hojo said. Gast sighed. He really hated this man. It was only a matter of time before one of them was gone. Gast had a feeling it would be him.

“She’s eccentric, I’ll allow you that,” Gast said, “but aren’t you the one that said great steps in Science requires a separation from the rest of society?” Hojo didn’t reply. Gast gave up on it and turned around. He stopped in his tracks.

Sephiroth was leading a drippin Cass back to the main laboratory. Sephiroth was  _leading_ Cass. As in coming back of his own volition. That never happened. Gast had carried Sephiroth back once or twice, but never had convinced him to come back on his own.

“...and then it falls back to the ground, with this gravity you told me about, as your everyday liquid water,” she said, “Make sense?” Sephiroth glanced back and nodded. His five-year-old epiphany was well worth the effort. Sephiroth approached Hojo with his blank stare back in place. Cass started to walk out, but stopped.

“Microscopes,” she told herself. She turned back and scooped up a pair.

“Hey, Professor Gast,” she said, “Sorry for the delay. I took a break, then got lost. See ya later Sephiroth.” She walked out. Sephiroth watched the door close behind her, Gast noticed. Hojo remained oblivious to the entire encounter and merely focused on his soaked Sephiroth.

“Pleased with your efforts?” Hojo jeered. Gast felt proud when Sephiroth said yes.

* * *

Sephiroth only expected to meet the strange lady in passing. She was Gast’s assistant and would have very little to do with Hojo, unless it was directly asked of her. Sephiroth didn’t really want to wish that on her. Professor Gast told him her name was Cassiopia Durmont and that she was very smart, but did things differently than other people. Hojo wouldn’t like that, but Gast did and liked the results she got with it.

Sephiroth only expected to meet the strange lady in passing. She was Gast’s assistant and would have very little to do with Hojo, unless it was directly asked of her. Sephiroth didn’t really want to wish that on her. Professor Gast told him her name was Cassiopia Durmont and that she was very smart, but did things differently than other people. Hojo wouldn’t like that, but Gast did and liked the results she got with it.

“Her brain just works differently,” Gast said, “She sees things in a different perspective and that’s a really good thing for me.” That would explain why she wasn’t afraid of him and why she was happy being in the lab. She saw it differently. She greeted everyone in the hall, including Hojo, who never really paid attention and ignored her. Sephiroth never replied either, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Hojo never got an assistant like her. His remained terrified and useless as ever. The current one was having immense trouble getting a blood sample and Sephiroth had had enough. As soon as the needle was clear he jerked his arm away. The assistant cursed and threatened to get Hojo.

“Whoa dude, what did you do to his arm?” Sephiroth looked over to see Cassiopia Durmont looking uncharacteristically concerned.

“Do you even know how to get a decent blood sample?” she asked, “Because in all honesty it looks like you’re just stabbing him. Do you need me to show you?”

“I just can’t get it in the vein,” the tech hissed. She nodded, cool as ever.

“It happens,” she said, “usually we try switching arms after the second or third try.”

“What’s going on here?” Hojo said, “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“This is the main lab,” Cassiopia said, “Anyone could be here and it happens to be where you keep...the microscopes. So...yeah, I guess I can be here. Imagine that. Oh, and thumbs here can’t nick a vein to save his life.” Sephiroth watched in amazement as Hojo’s wrath switched from the composed assistant to the useless technician. It was very smooth and Sephiroh wanted to know how it was done.

“And to think I came here to request a larger sample,” Hojo finished.

“Might I propose a solution?” she asked. Hojo glared over at her.

“I’m sick of bending over microscopes and he’s abusing your sample,” she said, “why not just switch?”

“You are Gast’s assistant,” Hojo reminded her.

“Very true,” she said, “but I’m ahead with all of my work. I’ve been trying to pick up everybody else’s slack. Regardless of what you pick, I shall be doing your bidding.” Hojo glared at her.

“Ten mililiter test tubes,” he said. He turned to the tech. “You, out!”  The tech ran out and Hojo stole a glare behind him as he exited. She sat down. She looked over at Sephiroth. He hid his arm defensively. She wouldn’t get it no matter how nice she was.

“Can I see your arm?” she asked. Sephiroth shook his head with a glare of his own. She wasn’t affected by it. “Not speaking today eh?” she said. She got off her chair and got down on her knees. She rested her arms on the edge of Sephiroth’s seat and looked up at him.

“I’m not going to stick you with a needle,” she said. She held up her hands. “Look, see? Nothing. I just want to look at it.” He blinked once. She blinked back. He cocked his head at her and in doing so, loosened his grip on his arm.

“I won’t hurt,” she said, “I just want to see.” He stretched it out tentatively. She stood back up and inspected it. She only touched his wrist and that was to turn his arm a little.

“You heal fast,” she said, “That’s good. Do you want a bandage anyway?” Sephiroth hesitated and nodded. Her hands were soft. She reached back and pulled some out.

“Should we play it up, make you look like a wounded hero, or do you just want the one?” she asked.

“Just the one,” Sephiroth said. She cleaned him off quickly and stuck one on.

“There,” she said, “can I see your other one?” Sephiroth shook his head and hid it behind his back.

“I’m not gonna stick you,” she said holding up her hands again, “I just want to make sure that I can get blood from that arm. Just touching. I promise.” She hadn’t lied before. He didn’t see a needle anywhere. He brought it back up front. She took it and felt gently at the crook of his arm.

“Bad news,” she said screwing up her nose, “I totally can.” She let him go. He didn’t hide. He waited for the needle. Instead she sat back down.

“I don’t take blood from people I don’t know,” she said, “I’ll talk rain, but needles and fluids are kind of an intimate thing. I know that you’re Sephiroth.”

“I know who you are,” Sephiroth said.

“Oh,” she said, “I don’t remember introducing myself.”

“Professor Gast told me,” Sephiroth said.

“Aha,” she said, “I knew he was talking about me behind my back. What did Professor Gast tell you?”

“He said your name was Cassiopia Durmont,” Sephiroth said. She nodded.

“I make everybody call me Cass,” she said, “because Cassiopia is a stupid name. What else?”

“He said you were very smart,” Sephiroth said, “you see things differently and that’s good.”

“That’s true,” she said, “I’m kinda weird, but I like to think I’m a good kind of weird.” She rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. “Is that it?” she asked. Sephiroth nodded.

“You wanna know something else?” she asked. Sephiroth hesitated and nodded. “I am one of the best blood sample takers in the world.” Sephiroth blinked at her.

“It’s true,” she said, “Before I came here, I had people lining up for me to take a sample for testing. They told me I was good, could be the best with more practice, but I had other things in mind and here I am. Ask anyone. I’m fast and I don’t hurt one little bit.” Sephiroth blinked at her again.

“How about this?” she said, “You let me take the sample and if I hurt you worse than a bee sting, then I will show you the best hiding place in the entire building. It will take hours for anyone to find you. I won’t even tell either.” Sephiroth blinked one more time, then nodded. He held out his arm. She got out a needle and the tubes and started getting ready.

“Wanna know a secret in case you don’t get the hiding spot?” she whispered. Sephiroth nodded again.

“I think Professor Hojo is an idiot,” she whispered. Sephiroth barely felt the needle sliding in. She was quick. She changed tubes without even twitching the needle. He was done in a few minutes.

“That so bad?” she asked sitting back. Sephiroth inspected his new bandage and the neat tape she had done with it.

“No,” he said. The wonder is his voice made a smile creep onto her face.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Sephiroth watched his legs swing as he sat on the table. Hojo stood with his back to him watching the screen with the results of the latest test. Sephiroth remained silent. He didn’t want to do the test again. It hurt and it took a long time. He kept his eyes on his legs and watched as the blue and black spots faded away. Those were easy to get, but they were always gone the next day. That was good.

Those hurt too.

Hojo made a noise and stepped away. Sephiroth looked up. Hojo was calling over one of his assistants. That meant the test was over.

“You can get up now Sephiroth,” Hojo said. Sephiroth slid to the floor. The exam room starting filling with people.

“Go find Professor Gast, Sephiroth,” Hojo said. He wanted the boy out of the way. Sephiroth was fine with that. Gast always let him rest after a long test day. Except he wasn’t in his office.

“What’s up, buttercup?” Sephiroth turned around. Cassiopia...Cass, was there. She had stepped out of another room.

“Hojo told me to find Professor Gast,” Sephiroth said.

“He wasn’t feeling good,” Cass said, “he went up to the infirmary. Do you know where that is?” Sephiroth blinked.

“I’m not supposed to leave the laboratory,” he said.

“Hmmm,” she said, “well...do you want to hang out with me?”

“Hang out?” Sephiroth asked.

“Figure of speech,” she said, “it means to spend time with someone. Usually to waste time.”

“Should I waste time with you?” Sephiroth asked.

“You don’t have to,” she said, “only if you want to. Otherwise I can go get Professor Gast for you, you can wait for him, or I might be able to break into his office. Which do you want to do?” He blinked at her again. No one asked him what he wanted. He wasn’t really sure himself. He didn’t say anything.

She crouched down next to him.

“Sephiroth?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said quietly.

“That’s okay,” she said, “why don’t you wait with me and if Professor Gast isn’t here in an hour, I’ll go get him.” He nodded. She stood back up and offered out her hand. He looked at it.

“It won’t bite,” she said. He took it very gently and cautiously. She started leading him down the hall. She matched his steps and walked by his side. His grip hardened a little. Her hand was warm. She gave him a squeeze in return. She opened a door close to Professor Gast’s office. It was a lot smaller. It only had a desk and a chair inside. Sephiroth really noticed that she had a large window. It didn’t have a great view of anything, but she had written all over it. She let go of his hand to pick up a file. He was drawn over to the window.

There were letters and numbers that he recognized, but they made no sense in the order they were in. He saw a bunch of weird shapes too. She had drawn a bunch of arrows and they crisscrossed every which way. It was pure gibberish to him

“What is this?” he asked.

“That’s what the inside of my head looks like,” she said. He blinked and turned around. She was looking up at her window too.

“Professor Gast asked me to work with him because I can make order out of that,” she said, “It’s really easy for me to do it inside my head, but sometimes I draw it out so someone else can make sense of it too. This one is kind of messy right now, so it probably looks like chicken scratch to anyone but me.” Sephiroth blinked back up at it.

“What does it mean?” Sephiroth asked.

“It’s supposed to show how a line is supposed to look,” she said, “but I wrote it out of order so it doesn’t make as much sense.” She picked up a rag, stood up on her chair and started wiping down the window. Sephiroth watched her write out the numbers and letters again. They still didn’t make any sense to him, but it looked nicer. She finished by redrawing the shapes more neatly. She stepped down.

“That’s what it should look like,” she said. It didn’t look all that different. She smiled as he blinked again. “I don’t suppose you really care though. This one was kind of boring, but I had a lot of people ask me how it was done. I thought if I had an example that might help.” Sephiroth nodded and blinked again.

“Do you want to sit down?” she asked. He looked up at her. It was the only chair. “It’s okay,” she said, “I like to walk around a lot. I’m ahead of Professor Gast anyway. I don’t have anything to do until he gets back.” Sephiroth climbed up into the chair. She laid down on the floor and propped her feet up against the wall. She rested her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

Sephiroth let his feet swing again. The black and blue spots were almost gone. He didn’t feel as sore anymore. He didn’t want to do another test for a while though. They were getting hard.

“Why you all black and blue?” she asked. She kept her eyes closed. Sephiroth was quiet for a while.

“It happened during the test,” he said at last, “Hojo said I shouldn’t be getting them.”

“The way he goes on about you to Gast, one would think that man would take better care to ensure that you didn’t get all bruised up,” she said.

“Bruised?” he asked. Is that what it was called?

“Mmm-hmm,” she said, “did you not know that?” Had he said that out loud?

“No,” he said, “What are they?” She put her legs down and sat up, knees tucked into her chest.

“A bruise is when you break a blood vessel underneath your skin,” she said, “the blood gathers there and makes the skin look darker. It’s like getting cut, only you don’t see the scrape. It’s hidden.” He looked at his legs again. There was blood under those marks?

“Usually it hurts when you get one,” she said, “at least it is for me. I can’t speak for everyone else.” They did hurt, but not for very long. He poked at one. It hurt, but just a little bit.

“Yours go away a lot faster than mine,” she said.

“Is that good?” Sephiroth asked. She shrugged.

“I dunno,” she said, “Sometimes I want them to go away, sometimes I like to show them off. It depends on how I got them. I can’t make them heal any faster or slower, so I just stick with the pace I have.” He looked up at the window again. How could anyone fit that all into their heads? Hojo made him memorize some things in books, but nothing like that. It was impossible.

“Are you...smart?” Sephiroth asked. It even felt ridiculous asking it.

“That depends on who you ask,” Cass said, “If you ask Hojo, he’ll say no. If you ask Gast, he’ll say yes. If you ask me...I don’t know. I can do this better than anyone else I have ever met. Not even Hojo could solve this in his head. At the same time, I couldn’t do Hojo’s job even if I wanted to. It just depends.” She crossed her legs and rested her head on her hands.

“What do you think?” she asked, “Am I smart?” Sephiroth looked back up at the window.

“Yes,” he said.

* * *

Gast walked down from the infirmary, feeling only slightly better. The stress was beginning to get to him. Hojo was insufferable, ShinRa was all too willing, and his opinion was falling to the wayside. Cass was the only person he really trusted here anymore. She and Sephiroth, the poor child. Gast knew there was nothing he could really do for the boy, except be there.

But that was becoming increasingly more difficult.

He saw Hojo and a group of other scientists working frantically with their new data as he passed by. He didn’t really care to find out. Hojo would brag about it later. Sephiroth wouldn’t say a word about it. He was used to it by now.

He returned to his office. Cass had finished her latest assignment, in record time. He wished he had found her earlier. How she slipped by so many people to land in his line of vision had to be a miracle. Nothing seemed to faze her at all. Usually a week in the lab was enough to suck the joy out of anyone, but Cass battled through. And she had found a way to get Sephiroth to behave for her.

And she was a genius. Even Hojo could not deny that, though he could argue that she would never reach his level. Gast decided that was debatable. He heard her speaking in her office, if you could call it an office. She was usually pretty quiet, though she could be heard pacing or dragging her chair around. He decided to investigate.

“It’s a lot of math, but the important number to remember is 9.8 meters per second squared,” Cass said.

“What’s that mean?” Sephiroth asked.

“It means that for every second, the falling object, or our raindrop, will speed up about ten more meters until it just can’t go any faster. Then it hits the ground,” Cass said. Sephiroth was watching her write out the problem with wide eyes. Gast leaned against the door, once again in shock. Sephiroth was happy just to be with someone who wasn’t Hojo, or didn’t work for Hojo. Getting him to talk was painful, to say the least. He was too conditioned not to ask about anything. He simply accepted what Hojo did to him.

Sephiroth asking Cass about...whatever it was...it was just miraculous. She finished the problem and Sephiroth seemed satisfied, nodding in a more vigorous way than usual.

“What are you to up to?” Gast asked, masking his incredulity.

“Oh, just avoiding my job,” Cass said, “as usual.” Sephiroth’s passive mask came back on.

“Hojo said to find you,” Sephiroth said, “Cassiopia said I could wait with her until you got back.”

“That was very nice of her,” Gast said.

“I’m a nice person, I guess,” Cass said. Sephiroth looked over at Professor Gast.

“What were you two talking about?” Gast said.

“Sephiroth wanted to know how fast rain can fall,” Cass said, “We were working it out.” Gast nodded and stepped forward.

“Would you two mind explaining it again for an old man?”

* * *

Cass walked away from the coffee machine empty handed and with a sigh on her lips. It was going to be a very long day. She hated it when Hojo’s little minions got first dibs at the coffee pot. They sucked it dry and it took an hour to fill the damn thing back up again. Not a great day after an all nighter. Not a great day at all.

“Intruding on my work again I see,” said a sneer to the left. Gods damn it all to hell. It was too early for this.

“For the last time,” Cass said, her voice shockingly even, even to herself, “this is the main laboratory. It’s open to everyone and it’s where most of the extra equipment is kept. I have just as much right to be here as you do.” Hojo sent a glare her way. Was his face just stuck like that? It would explain a lot really.

“And where exactly does Sephiroth being in your office play into that factor?” Hojo asked. Was that what this was about? Gods, what an insufferable prick. No wonder Gast talked about leaving.

“You expect me to leave a five-year-old to run around here alone?” she shot back. Hojo didn’t reply.

“You’re spending more time with him than I find comfortable,” he said.

“Then tell him that,” she said, “Every time Sephiroth and I have come into contact it was under your orders, more or less. You told me to get him off the roof and I did. You told him to go find Gast, and he did. The fact the we came into contact is secondary. I have no interest in Sephiroth outside the fact that he is a very bright five-year-old.”

“That concerns me,” Hojo said.

“Why?” Cass said, “Afraid I’m gonna teach him calculus?” Hojo didn’t reply.

“You’re paranoid,” Cass said, “Sephiroth and I have had two conversations and both were about rain. He asked I answered, that’s it, there isn’t any more.”

“Rain?” Hojo sneered.

“Rain,” Cass confirmed, “Like I said, he’s smart for a five-year-old and that’s all that really stuck out for me.”

“He’s more than smart,” Hojo started.

“Don’t start another stupid schpiel on your grand success story,” she said, “It’s not that great. I don’t really care about your perfect specimen.”

“You should,” Hojo said.

“But I won’t,” Cass said, “now unless you have something for me to derive for you, I’d like to find a goddamn cup of coffee before I give one of your minions head trauma.” Hojo scoffed as she left. She didn’t look back.

From a nearby room, Sephiroth peeked out and watched Cassiopia walk by. She looked tired. She and Gast had worked long after Hojo sent someone to fetch him. He watched her snatch a mug away from a man in a lab coat saying something about being greedy, but he wasn’t really paying attention. There was something else on his mind.

She didn’t think he was perfect.

She didn’t think he was the salvation of the human race.

She thought he was smart.


	3. Chapter 3

Cass glanced back when she heard the door open. She hoped her hair disguised the earbud currently resting in her ear. Gast had already told her not to listen to music while she was working, but a quick concerto here and there never hurt anyone. Her self-proclaimed cat-like reflexes had ensured that the music was safely off this time. 

It wasn’t Gast who had opened the door. The light from the hallway illuminated someone a lot shorter and much younger. 

“What’s happenin’ short stuff?” she asked. While pissing off Hojo was easy and fun, putting Sephiroth in the middle of it was most certainly unethical. Better get the kid where he needed to be. He was really quiet for a long time. She looked back up at the screen, knowing he would answer sooner or later. 

“They locked the doors so I can’t get outside,” he said. Gast had informed her of Sephiroth’s obsession with rain. It was weird, (and her lecture about it probably didn’t help at all) but understandable. Some things in this world were just plain awesome. If Sephiroth decided rain was his awesome thing, then it could be awesome for him. A faint rumble from outside agreed with her sentiment. 

“Awww,” she said, “how come?”

“Hojo doesn’t like it when I go outside,” Sephiroth said, “he says I’m not ready yet.” Cass called bullshit in her head, but said nothing. It wasn’t really her business. Sephiroth was five, not fragile, and not really her responsibility.  

“So why are you here?” Cass said. Sephiroth fell quiet again. 

“I’m not ready to go back yet,” he said quietly. Cass turned around. Goddamn it, he had a cute pouty face. She’d take one more hit for him, he wouldn’t be cute forever. Hopefully. 

“Tell you what,” she said, “you can hide in here. I’m going to put both earbuds in and turn my music up all the way. If anyone asks, you snuck in and I never saw you. Deal?” Sephiroth looked up at her, shock clearly evident on his face. 

Sephiroth nodded. He shuffled over to a chair and sunk into it. Cass turned back and fumbled with her headphones a minute before it was situated into her ear. She reached into her pocket and Sephiroth heard a small click. He could faintly make out something playing quietly. He watched the images on the screen for awhile. 

He couldn’t make sense of what they showed. It looked like a bunch of random dots to him, but Cass paused every now and then to take notes on something, before moving along. She hummed along quietly to whatever she was listening to. He didn’t make sense of that either. 

Something was different about her. He couldn’t figure out right away what is was. She wore the same lab coat as everyone else. She wore a similar outfit as the other women here. Nothing was really different. Then he looked at her face and he realized it. Her hair was down, well lower than before. She usually had it wrapped up really tight behind her head. Now she had it back in one long coil, with two thinner braids around her head, in an intricate, yet loose knot at the back of her head. 

Sephiroth tried to untangle the knot in his head. He decided her hair would be just a little longer than Hojo’s, but she actually took care of hers. It looked kind of...pretty? He’d heard someone saw that word before. He hoped that’s what it meant. Her’s looked neater and more appealing when compared to Hojo’s. 

He sat quietly for a long time, staring at his feet again. All of the bruises had gone. 

Then she sighed and took pulled out wires from her ears. The room was quiet again. 

“Doesn’t look like they’re looking very hard,” she said. She started pushing buttons and the screens started going dark. “I think it’s about time we got you back.” Sephiroth slid off the chair as she got up from hers. She stretched quickly and ushered him out of the door. 

“Where’s the old fart lurking today?” she asked him. He pointed half-heartedly down the hall. She started walking. He followed behind, clinging to the end of her coat. She slowed and looked down at him. She held out her hand. 

“Come on,” she said, “we both have to face the music.” Sephiroth hadn’t heard that expression before. Music certainly wouldn’t be a word to describe what he would have to face, but he understood what she meant. He thought. He took her hand. She walked by his side like last time. He felt a warm squeeze. That made him feel better for some odd reason. Some weight felt like it had been lifted off him, but he couldn’t say why. 

Hojo glared up at the intrusion. Cass bit back her snipe about him hogging the main lab. She was already in the doghouse for being with Sephiroth. Sure enough, his eyes took a dangerous glint. 

“I’m returning your little bundle of joy,” Cass said, “He was hiding in my new office.”

“I thought I told you to keep away from Sephiroth,” Hojo said. 

“You said you didn’t like me talking to him,” she corrected, “and I was staying away from him. He came into my office. I didn’t bring him there, he came to me.”

“What’s going on?” Gast came in. The gods were happy today. 

“Your nosey assistant is fraternizing with Sephiroth,” Hojo spat. Cass rolled her eyes. 

“Don’t blame me because you can’t keep track of a five-year-old,” Cass said. 

“What did you say?” Hojo said. 

“You heard me,” she said, “either keep a proper eye on him, or hire yourself a babysitter, then we won’t have a problem with us ‘fraternizing’.”

“Are you telling me how to do my job?” Hojo spat. 

“How long as Sephiroth been missing?” she asked. Hojo didn’t respond. “I thought so,” she said, “you didn’t even know he was gone. So yes, I am telling you how to do your job.” 

“Hojo,” Gast said, “Ms. Durmont is only looking out for Sephiroth’s well being. She doesn’t feel that it’s safe for Sephiroth to be wandering around by himself and has taken time out of her busy schedule to make sure he is safe. You berate your own staff for letting him go out in a rainstorm. How is what she doing any worse?” Hojo didn’t reply to that either. 

“Here he is,” Cass said, “Safe and sound. Please keep a better eye on him in the future, or else stop accusing me of inappropriate interaction.” Sephiroth let her go and stepped towards Hojo. He glanced back as Gast followed Cass back out. 

“I’m sorry he keeps threatening you,” Gast said once they were outside. 

“He hasn’t threatened me yet,” Cass said, “Just yelled at me. It’s not your fault he’s an asshole.” 

“True enough,” Gast said, “and thank you for being so patient with Sephiroth.”

“He’s a good kid,” Cass said, “Really quiet, really smart.” 

“How long were you watching him?” Gast asked. 

“I wasn’t, he snuck in,” she replied. 

“You were listening to your music again, weren’t you?”

“...Maybe,” 

* * *

 

Cass had almost one glorious week of Hojo free interaction. Sephiroth drooped obviously when the passed in the hall, but Cass still gave him a determined hello. Mama Durmont would flip on the day when Baby Cassi stopped doing that. Even with a ridiculously high IQ, Mama Durmont would expect proper manners from her baby girl. 

Too bad the kid never responded. He was far too quiet for a five-year-old. 

That wasn’t what occupied her mind at the moment. She had created an equation that even she was questioning the solvability of. She’d question if it was even real, but she had created it. She’d even drawn out the steps to be sure. It was real all right and a stumper for sure. 

It was wonderful. The stuff she only dreamed of. Simply beautiful. 

She wrote it out large and legibly on her new window, with a backlight. Thank the gods Professor Gast, allowed her some leeway on how she worked. His insistence to the higher ups that she have a better workspace was really paying off. She loved it. Her old one was decent. This was paradise. 

“The results you’ve given me are so much higher than anything I ever hoped for,” Gast had told her, “I don’t care how strange your methods seem. They obviously work better than what we’ve tried before.” 

She leaned back in her chair and just admired what she had created. Just basked in the beauty of an equation that was her proper match. It was simply...beautiful. 

There was a knock on her door. 

“It’s open,” she called back. She wasn’t ready to tear her eyes away. The door opened. 

“Hard at work, I see.” Son of a bitch. 

“How can I help you Professor Hojo?” she asked, turning around. Since I haven’t been near your precious Sephiroth for a week, she thought to herself. 

“I have considered your ultimatum from our last meeting,” he began. Praise Bahamut, she thought to herself, now all you need is an ass whooping. 

“You may be correct,” Hojo said. That must have _hurt_. 

“It happens more often than people think,” she said. Hopefully the apology is next, she thought. 

“I’m here to ask if you would care for Sephiroth when I am otherwise occupied,” Hojo finished. Or not. She nearly shot to her feet. 

“You...what?” she said, “I...what?” 

“It was a simple request,” Hojo said. 

“No, no, no,” she said, “you told me you didn’t want me around Sephiroth anymore. Now you change your mind? That’s not right...that’s, that’s suspicious.” 

“You obviously have the free time,” Hojo scoffed. 

“Yeah, because you hold up the line,” she said, “and now I actually have something to work on.” She stole a glance at her beautiful equation. “Why do you want me to babysit?”

“If you must know,” Hojo said, “he claimed you were the most qualified.” 

“I...I probably am,” she admitted, “but you of all people don’t believe that.” She saw something in his face twitch. She was right. 

“He refuses to behave for any of my staff, or for Professor Gast at this point,” Hojo said, “and our progress with this particular experiment needs my full attention. I cannot be disturbed to discipline him each time he misbehaves.” 

“Ahh,” she said, “I’m the last person you’ve asked, aren’t I?” Hojo didn’t reply. Serves you right, asshole, she thought to herself. She sighed. 

“All right,” she said, “I’ll keep an eye on him. Just run him over when you’re done with him.” 

“Why should he come here?” Hojo snapped. 

“Because, I have things to work on and I’m not going to work on them under your supervision,” she said, “Sephiroth will be less than 100 yards from you at all times. I assure you, he’ll be fine.” Hojo fumed for a moment, then let it go. She might refuse otherwise. 

“Very well,” Hojo consented, “but there are things that I will not allow-”

“I won’t take him outside, I won’t teach him any inappropriate, I won’t do anything to affect what he does with you if I can help it, I’ll just keep him safely occupied,” she said. He glared at her, but nodded. 

“Good, then if that’s settled,” Hojo stepped outside.

“Please shut the door behind you,” Cass said. She heard the soft click as she turned around. Then she let herself shiver. Hojo gave her the creeps. He was slimy and greasy and gross and her dislike of him increased as he got closer. Hopefully this would be the first and last time he was in her office. 

She briefly reconsidered taking back her generous offer, of playing babysitter for Sephiroth. She brushed it away. Gast approved of her interations with the boy, and as far as she knew, Gast was currently the man in charge. Besides Sephiroth wasn’t that hard to look after. Why everyone else had problems with him, was beyond her reasoning. 

It wasn’t that hard to distract a five-year-old. Some mindless chatter, maybe some reverse-psychology, something to do for an hour or so. She considered herself socially inept, but even she could comprehend the basics. Leave it to a self-proclaimed genius to screw that up, though she suspected deep in her mind that everything Hojo touched started oxidizing on contact. 

She looked back up at her lovely creation and sighed. At least with this arrangement, Sephiroth could be in contact with someone who could explain the more awe inspiring actions in life. She had been the one to recognize what he was doing out in the rain after all. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Sephiroth followed closely behind Professor Gast. He seemed more agitated than usual, but he was like this a lot after talking to Hojo. Sephiroth had to hurry to catch up with him. His legs were too short to match the bigger man's steps. He was used to it though. Most people just expected him to keep up.

"What Cassiopia has offered to do is very generous," Gast said, "She keeps herself very busy and has a lot of things to do. Remember to thank her before you leave." Sephiroth didn't reply. Why was he allowed to be with Cassiopia again? Hojo and Gast had told him not to before. Now they were going to spend a lot of time together.

This change of mind had started when Sephiroth had gotten upset when a familiar technician had mangled his arm again. Hojo had to do the sample himself and was not happy about it. Hojo didn't want to do as many of the smaller tests himself anymore. The others didn't like to come near him as much and he didn't really prefer to be near them either. Sephiroth often felt himself being brushed aside, which, he had to admit, was a little relieving. Hojo tended to keep a very sharp eye on him, and having it lifted, if just a little, made him feel...lighter.

He started to wander a little, and apparently that was not right. It started long ago with his need to see the rain, but now he just didn't like being cooped up in exam rooms anymore. He didn't want to be dragged here and there to wait to be poked and prodded, but he had to anyway. Gast tried to explain it to him, but he heard the speech so many times, he stopped paying attention.

Of course, a five-year-old couldn't explain it that well. Sephiroth didn't explain it at all, because no one really cared about what he wanted.

Gast stopped and stooped down to Sephiroth's level.

"Please behave for her," Gast said, "I know that this isn't really what you want. I'm not mad at you for running away from me. I had you cooped up for far too long. But please don't do that to Cassiopia. Please do what she asks you to do." Sephiroth blinked once and nodded. Gast gave him a faint smile. He stood up and knocked on the door.

"It's open," Cass's muffled voice said. Gast opened the door. Cass was sitting, cross legged, in a chair, staring up at her window. She spared a glance back.

"I have a guest for you," Gast said.

"Welcome, dear guest," she replied. Gast knelt down again.

"Be good," he said. Sephiroth nodded and Gast closed the door as he left. Sephiroth stared at the door and felt the urge to walk out.

"You don't have to stand there," Cass said, "You can have a seat. They gave me a lot of chairs." Sephiroth picked one out and climbed into it. He let his legs swing and watched the movement blur. Cass stared back up at her window. It was the cleanest he had ever seen it. There was only one line on it. Not that he could make any sense of it. Cass seemed rather interested in it. So much so, that she wasn't really paying attention to him. He glanced back at the door. As quietly as he could he slid off the chair and crept over towards it.

"Where ya going?" Cass said. Sephiroth felt himself jump in surprise.

"Nowhere," he said.

"Why are you moving towards the door?" she asked.

"I'm not," Sephiroth said, even though it was a lie.

"Yes you are," Cass said, "I can hear you." She could hear him? Hojo once did a test on Sephiroth's hearing and had told Gast that his hearing was quite superb. Cass's hearing must be the same. She turned away from her window.

"Do you have to use the bathroom or something?" she asked. Sephiroth shook his head. Cass unfolded herself and stood up. She walked over to Sephiroth.

"Want to go with me to the vending machines?" she asked. Sephiroth looked up at her and nodded.

Sephiroth was not accustomed to having someone move at his pace, as Cass did. She didn't seem to be in any particular hurry, like everyone else was. Sephiroth wondered how she could be ahead of everyone else if she merely meandered here and there, sometimes slowing to give out a greeting that was seldom reciprocated.

That was strange, but not necessarily unwelcome.

She stopped at the vending machines and inspected them for a moment. She bought herself a bottle of water.

"Do you want anything?" she asked. Sephiroth shook his head. Gast had once gotten him a chocolate bar, but Sephiroth hadn't particularly enjoyed the taste. None of the other brightly colored options seemed appealing either. Cass glanced down at him. Sephiroth had never seen the look she gave him before. It wasn't annoyed or amused. He had no idea what it meant.

She bought something out of the machine and they started back, at Sephiroth's pace again. They were starting to get some strange looks in the hallway now.

"How's the babysitting gig going?" someone asked.

"Better than your job security ass wipe," Cass said back. He laughed as they passed and Cass shook her head. Sephiroth looked up. Had Cass just cursed? Some of the technicians muttered things under their breath that Hojo couldn't hear and Sephiroth didn't understand. Gast had told him it was swearing or cursing and not really the politest thing to do. Sephiroth had a sudden sneaking suspicion that Cass was very good at that sort of thing.

"Please don't tell Professor Gast that I said that in front of you," Cass said, "He's told me enough times to clean up my language."

"What does that mean?" Sephiroth asked, "what you told him?"

"It's an insult," she said, "and a rather weak one at that. It doesn't really have to mean anything so long as it stings." She opened the door and let him go in first. He got back in his chair and stared at his feet again. Why did they want to move so much? He found himself glancing at the door again.

He waited until Cass seemed preoccupied with her window again, before sliding off the chair and moving towards the door again.

"Restless today, aren't you?" Cass said without turning around. Sephiroth stopped. How did she do that? She stood up again. She didn't look angry at him.

"Do you want to go walk around for a bit?" she asked. She'd asked him what he wanted again and almost like flipping a switch he suddenly didn't know what he wanted. He stared at his feet, unable to find an answer.

"Do your feet want to walk around for a bit?" she asked. That he could answer because they most certainly did. He nodded. "All right, let's go make your feet happy," she said. Sephiroth looked back at her window.

"It will still be here when we get back," she said, "It can wait." How did she know what he was thinking? The wandered down the hall again. Sephiroth kept glancing up at her, he couldn't help it. When he had tried doing that before and had gotten caught, he'd been chastised. Cass caught him, and...it was okay? She was confusing.

"She does things differently," a memory of Professor Gast said, "and that's not always a bad thing."

They stopped at the same time. The hallway branched off in three different directions.

"Which way to do you want to go?" Cass asked. Sephiroth didn't reply.

"We can go straight, which will lead us to the main lab, we can go left, which is where Professor Hollander works most often, we can go right, which is where Professor Gast and Professor Hojo are working today, or we can go back," Cass said, "It's up to you." She waited for his response.

"Right?" he said. She nodded.

"Right it is then," she said. They took the right hallway. Sephiroth could see them working, Gast, Hojo and some other people in lab coats, but he wasn't very interested in them. He could hear Hojo saying something. Cass could too, because she made a noise in her throat. She rolled her eyes, a gesture that Sephiroth guessed meant annoyance. He looked up at her and she glanced down. She smiled at him.

"Sometimes, I feel the urge to wrap up Professor Hojo's head in duct tape," she said, "Somehow I think that might make him a little more pleasant." Sephiroth thought about it and decided he agreed, but did not say so. The hall ended in a dead end and they started back. They reached the main fork again.

"Left, Straight, Right again, or back?" she asked. Sephiroth looked up at her.

"I don't know," he said. Cass bit her lip and looked around.

"I know something I can show you," she said quietly, "but you have to be very quiet." Sephiroth nodded. His interest was peaked. What did she know that he didn't? They went left. Sephiroth looked around. He didn't see anything different. What was she talking about?

"What are you doing here?" A man's voice said. Sephiroth looked over and saw Professor Hollander. Cass met the accusation passively.

"Taking a walk," she said, "that a problem?" Hollander glared down at Sephiroth. Hollander never seemed to like Sephiroth all that much. Hollander didn't like Hojo either.

"I thought the math freak was too busy with Hojo's brat to do anything," Hollander said.

"Nonsense," Cass said, "I'm a woman. I can multitask." Hollander grunted. Sephiroth watched the confrontation with interest. Cass was very good at it, he thought.

"So why are you down here?" Hollander asked.

"No reason," Cass said, "just taking a walk."

"May I ask why you felt the need to walk this way?" Hollander said.

"Certainly," Cass said, "as you can see, my companion here, is five. Five-year-olds need some sort of exercise or else they get all cranky and insufferable. Kind of like you and Hojo with your dick measuring contest." Hollander glared back up at Cass. He opened his mouth.

"Save it," Cass said, "My opinion on the both of you is about the same and I can assure you that it is very poor. My interest lies elsewhere. Sephiroth and I are stretching our legs and don't care about hearing a lecture right now. Good day Professor." Sephiroth felt a hand on his back gently but firmly usher him around Hollander and down the hall.

"Fine, run back to your chalkboard," Hollander said to her back.

"At least the chalkboard is getting more action than you are," Cass tossed over her shoulder. She and Sephiroth turned around a corner. She checked one more time to make sure no one was around, then opened a nearby closet door. She stepped inside and started fiddling with a grate. Sephiroth cocked his head. What was so interesting in the closet?

"When they first designed this place," Cass started explaining, "they had a catwalk in the main laboratory. Then they hired less people to work, so they closed it off. I found one of the old schematics while I was still in my old office. They just covered the catwalk entrance with a grate, but the whole thing is still here. It's been awhile since they closed it off, but they built this thing to last. You have to be very quiet, or else we'll get caught. No one is supposed to be up here and they won't look unless they hear something." Sephiroth nodded. She pulled off the grating and set it aside. As a safe measure she shut the door.

"It will get brighter as you go through it," Cass's voice said. Another firm and gentle hand pushed him through. He kept walking. He could hear Cass behind him.

"We should reach some steps right about now." Sephiroth felt around and sure, enough found a set of stairs. He started climbing. It wasn't really that dark. He could see where he was going pretty well. A quick glance behind him revealed Cass climbing a lot more cautiously than he was. She couldn't see as well as he could.

He reached the end and paused to wait for Cass to meet him. She nearly stumbled when the steps ended, but recovered quickly.

"The catwalk should be just ahead of us," she whispered. Her voice carried and echoed a little anyway. He understood the need for silence. Sephiroth nodded and started forward again.

Just like Cass had said, they were on a bridge above the main laboratory. Sephiroth had been there a lot, but had never seen it like this. People milled about busily beneath them and Sephiroth found himself watching avidly. He and Cass walked to the middle and just stood there. Not one person bothered to glance up as they moved.

He didn't know how long they stood there, it felt both long and short at the same time, but he knew it was probably time for them to leave before they got caught. He followed Cass back. She hesitated at the thinking, Sephiroth took her hand and started guiding her down. He could see them clearly. They took them one at a time.

"Last one," Sephiroth said at the bottom.

"Thank you Sephiroth," she said, "I nearly fell down them when I came by myself." Sephiroth didn't reply. "That was the hiding place I was going to show you," Cass said, "the one where they would take forever to find you, the one I was talking about a few weeks ago when I drew blood. Nobody ever thinks to look up." They moved back to the closet. Cass fitted the grate back up, as if they were never here. They stepped out of the closet as if nothing was unusual and made their way back to Cass's office.

Sephiroth slid back into his chair and Cass into hers. They resumed their quiet contemplations. Sephiroth no longer felt like going to the door. He found himself staring at Cass. She kept looking up at her line on the window.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. When Sephiroth didn't answer right away she turned to look at him. He shook his head. She gave him that strange look again.

"Oh really?" she said. Sephiroth didn't know what to make of that. She apparently found the face he made amusing and laughed at him.

"Well, then," she said, "do you mind if I eat?" Sephiroth blinked at her. "I expect an answer Sephiroth, it wasn't rhetorical."

"I don't mind," Sephiroth said. She nodded and got up. She moved over to one of the desks and pulled out a paper sack. It didn't look like she ate a lot. She had a few bags of cut up fruits and vegetables. He stared at her for a minute.

"You can come over here if you want," she said. She liked to ask him about what he wanted a lot. He got up and moved over. He came closer to food and realized that perhaps he was hungry. She pushed over one of the bags.

"I packed some extra in case you wanted any," she said. She knew he was coming?

"You knew I would be coming today?" Sephiroth asked.

"No," Cass said, "but I have a feeling that you and I will be seeing a lot of each other. This was simply to be sure."

"What if I hadn't come?" Sephiroth asked.

"Then I would have eaten it or saved it for a day when you would be here," she said, "As it is..." she gave a nod towards the bag. He picked it up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"An apple," she said, "I cut it up. I like to eat apples like that." He looked at it for a moment.

"Do you not like apples?" she asked.

"I don't like the taste of things that are sweet," Sephiroth said.

"So I was told," Cass said, "Sweetness depends on the type of apple. Some are sweet, some are bitter, some are nearly sour. You won't know you don't like it unless you try it. If you don't like it, I won't make you finish it." He opened the bag and picked up a slice. He nibbled on it carefully.

It wasn't that sweet after all. Enough to be edible. He really liked how the apple was firm and broke apart with a snap. The crunch was satisfying, but the flavor wasn't really his favorite. It was decent, better than chocolate.

"Not the best?" Cass asked.

"It's...okay," Sephiroth said. He hoped he used the word correctly. He'd never used it before. Cass dug around and pulled out another bag. She handed him soft square of something yellow.

"What is that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Cheese," she said, "try it with the apple." He placed it on a new slice and took a tentative bite. That was...good. The apple was still sweet, but the cheese was not. It was stronger than the apple was and dulled the sweetness some more. He finished it more enthusiastically. She put the bag with the cheese between them and started on her own bag of apples the same way. His apples were gone very quickly.

"Still hungry?" Cass asked. He nodded. She passed over the bag of...something she had gotten earlier at the vending machines. "Try these." He opened it carefully.

It wasn't chocolate, he was relieved to see. They looked like small dried sticks. He picked one up and tested it. It was dry and salty, but he liked it.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Pretzels," she said. He finished them too. She packed up their trash and threw it away. Her own leftovers went into a small refrigerator. Sephiroth got up and moved back to his old chair. He folded his legs up the same way that Cass did. He felt...content right where he was.

"Cassiopia?" Sephiroth asked, "May I ask a question?"

"Yes you may," Cass replied, "and please don't call me Cassiopia. It makes me cringe."

"What does rhetorical mean?" Sephiroth asked.

"As in, what is a rhetorical question?" Cass asked. Sephiroth nodded. "A rhetorical question is a question you ask, but don't expect an answer to. It's asked to prove a point, not to inquire. Sometimes it's used to gather attention or interest. An example would be, if I wanted to talk about...let's say you, I would ask 'who's the boy with the silver hair?'. We all know it is you so no one would answer, but I would start to talk about you. Does that make sense?" Sephiroth nodded. He fell quiet again and amused himself by trying to make sense of the line Cass had drawn on the window. She looked like she was doing the same. He remembered Gast saying she was busy and decided to leave her alone so maybe she could get something done today.

Some time later, there was a knock on the door.

"It's open," Cass called back. Gast opened the door.

"It's time for Sephiroth to go back now," Gast said. He tried not to notice how Sephiroth was copying Cass's sitting position. Then again, maybe she had a good idea there too.

"I'll bid you a good evening then, Sephiroth," Cass said. Sephiroth nodded and started back. He stopped and turned.

"Thank you," Sephiroth said.

"Mmm-hmm," Cass replied. Gast started out with Sephiroth, then paused.

"He didn't give you any trouble did he?" Gast asked. Cass looked up.

"No," she said, "why would he?"

 


	5. Chapter 5

"You're really okay with this arrangement?"

"Yeah, should I not be?"

"No, no...it's just...he doesn't get along very well with most people."

"I've noticed. Does no one here remember what life was like at five?"

"In our defense, you are a lot closer to five than many of us."

"In more ways than one. Still, I don't think that Sephiroth is as much of a hassle as everyone else makes him out to be. I have no problem with him."

"Just out of curiosity, what does he do when he's with you?"

"Nothing. He'll look around a little, but he mostly just sits there. It's a little disturbing. After the first hour or so, he'll get up and we'll go for a walk. Sometimes I give him a snack. He usually is a bit more talkative after that."

"He talks to you?"

"Some, it's still mostly nods and no's when I ask him anything. He'll ask questions from time to time though."

"What does he ask about?"

"He asked me last time what the noise that came with rain was."

"Thunder?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth. That it's the expansion of the heated air after a lightning strike. Then I had to tell him what lightning was."

"And you weren't bothered by it? You are in the process of being consumed by this equation of yours."

"On the contrary. I find Sephiroth to be a fine distraction. If I let this equation consume me, it will be bad for my health. He's my reminder to get up and do something else before I lose my mind."

"So, you're really okay with this?"

"Yes, It's fine. The only person who pisses me off is Hojo. I asked him for an approved list of areas that Sephiroth and I can go to. It felt like I was explaining to a ten-year-old how to properly take care of a pet. 'Yes, you have to walk him now and then so he doesn't bounce off the walls.' I feel that he is an idiot of epic proportions."

"Most people feel the opposite with Hojo."

"I've noticed. My mother would turn in her grave if she found out I bowed down to someone because of intimidation. There's plenty of reason to fear Hojo, but none to show it."

"I wish I understood how your brain works."

"Simple. Do a lot of math and take shit from no one."

* * *

 

Sephiroth followed behind his current escort to Cass's office. He felt a weird feeling about going there today. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, but he had never quite felt it before. Sort of a buzzing feeling.

He didn't go to her everyday, but everyday he wasn't with Hojo all day he was with Cass. Hojo didn't seem very happy about it, but for some reason he allowed it. After a week, Sephiroth decided he liked Cass. He preferred her company over Hojo's. He never really liked anyone, except for maybe Professor Gast, but Cass was something different altogether.

This feeling had started yesterday. Hojo wanted to redo an old test and Sephiroth was most definitely not interested. He slipped away. It was a lot easier than most people thought. Much like they never looked up, people rarely looked down unless they had a reason to. He found himself going towards a closet and pulling off a grate to reveal a passage and stairs.

He sat up on the catwalk for about an hour, watching Hojo send people all over to look for him. It was a lot more interesting at this angle. Then Gast had walked in with Cass at his side. Hojo had leapt on her and Gast had defended her as usual. As the story was laid out, Cass glanced up.

They made eye contact.

Then she smiled.

"This is no laughing matter," Hojo had said.

"You're wrong," Cass said, "this is hilarious, but I'll go check my office. Maybe he thought he was supposed to go there." She left. Sephiroth watched it a little longer, before deciding he wanted to save this spot for a better day. He left, not quite putting the grate back up all the way, but no one would notice.

He met Cass in the hall. She grinned at him again.

"You must have found one great place to hide," she said. He blinked at her and moved in. Hojo was not upset for very long. Apparently, Sephiroth had improved on something. He didn't know what. He had a long time before they needed him for a test again though. That was good.

His escort knocked on the door and left. That was how it went now. Sephiroth opened the door by himself, on the tops of his toes. Cass glanced back and greeted him, before looking back at her window. She hadn't changed it yet. Sephiroth moved over to his chair. After multiple proddings, Sephiroth had tested all the chairs she had been given and found one that pleased him more than the others. It was firm, but it let him sink just ever so into it. He sat there every time now.

The feeling hadn't gone away. What was the feeling for? He looked down at his stomach, where the feeling felt like it was coming from. Everything looked normal. He shifted a little, to see if that would make it go away.

After shifting a few more times, Cass looked over at him.

"You okay there, short stuff?" she asked, "Your feet getting restless again?" Sephiroth shook his head. That wasn't it.

"I don't know," Sephiroth said, "I feel strange." She stood up.

"What do you feel like?" she asked.

"I don't know," Sephiroth said.

"Does it hurt?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Is it uncomfortable?" A nod.

"Is it in your head?" A negative.

"Is it in your chest?" No.

"Is it in your stomach?" A nod again.

"Does it feel kind of fluttery?" she asked, "Like there's butterflies or buzzing inside?" Another nod.

"You're okay," she said, "You're just either excited, or nervous. Maybe both."

"Excited?" Sephiroth asked.

"Like you want something to happen and you can't wait until it does," Cass said, "Nervous is kind of the same, except you don't want it to happen, at least not right away. What's going to happen?"

"Nothing," Sephiroth said.

"Is it about yesterday?" she asked, "because I won't tell anyone about the catwalk if you don't. Seeing Hojo in a panic because you found a spot to hide ten feet away, was very entertaining. Besides, if I told, then you might tell Hojo who showed you that spot and who would be in trouble then?" For some reason, that made the feeling go away. He nodded again.

"I feel better," he said.

"Good," she said. She moved back to her chair.

"Cassio-Cass," Sephiroth caught himself, "May I ask a question?"

"Yes you may," Cass said.

"What are butterflies?" he asked. She turned back towards him and smiled again.

She explained it for him. Then she got up, walked over to her bookshelf and picked out a book. She flicked through it until she found what she was looking for. She passed it over to him.

"This should explain it better than I can," she said. He took it gently and looked at a picture that matched her description of a butterfly. It was orange and black.

"You may read any of those books over there if you so desire," she said, "you don't have to ask permission. You don't have to ask permission to ask a question either. I'll answer them for you if I can."

"If you can?" Sephiroth asked.

"I know I fake it very well, but I don't actually know everything," she said. Sephiroth nodded and started reading. He got stuck on a word early in. Sometimes he could guess what the word was, but he had no idea this time. Hojo usually had him read it out loud and helped him through more difficult pronunciations if necessary.

"Cass?" he said tentatively.

"Mmm?" she replied.

"What does...ent, entom..."

"Spell it out," she said.

"E-N-T-O-M-O-L-O-G-Y," he said.

"Entomology," she said, "It's the study of insects, like butterflies or houseflies." That made sense.

"Thank you," he said.

"Mmm-hmm." He kept reading. Butterflies were interesting. Not as interesting as rain, but Sephiroth decided he would like to see one someday. The book made it seem like they were pretty common, so it wouldn't be too difficult. He came across another unfamiliar word.

"Cass?"

"Yes?"

"What does caterpillar mean?" he asked.

"A caterpillar is like a baby butterfly," she said, "Before they get wings they crawl around as a catarpillar, then they transform themselves into a butterfly." That matched the picture he saw.

"I can't pronounce this word either," Sephiroth said.

"Spell it," she said.

"C-H-R-Y-S-A-L-I-S."

"Chrysalis, with a C like a K and a Y like an I. A caterpillar makes one around itself, like an egg. Then it hatches out as a butterfly." He read on for a few minutes, then came up against one final word that he couldn't unravel. He looked up at Cass. She looked focused entirely on what she was working on. When he interrupted Hojo like that, Hojo was usually upset.

He really wanted to know what the word was though.

"What does Metamorphosis mean?" he asked.

"Metamorphosis is just an elegant way of saying transformation," Cass said, "A caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. A caterpillar has a metamorphosis and becomes a butterfly. Their meanings are similar."

"I apologize," Sephiroth said.

"For what?" Cass asked.

"For interrupting you." She sighed.

"I'm not upset," she said, "no matter how many times you interrupt me, this equation will stay the same. It will remain unsolved unless I admit defeat." Sephiroth cocked his head in an unspoken question. She turned around with a wry smile.

"I can't solve this in my head," she said. She went back to her bookshelf and pulled out a notebook. She pulled a pen from her pocket and sat back down. "I have to write it out. I haven't done that in years."

"Is that bad?" Sephiroth asked.

"I think it's wonderful," she said, "It's like you trying to figure out what rain, thunder, lightning, and butterflies are, except I don't have anyone to ask about them. I have to figure it out on my own." Sephiroth looked at the single line of text.

"What does it mean?" Sephiroth asked.

"I don't know," she said, "I have no idea what it is, what it stands for, what it finds, anything. I have to find a way to solve it then I can work backwards to find out what I was looking for."

"That sounds hard," Sephiroth said.

"It's very hard," she said, "but so many hard things have become easy for me that a challenge like this becomes something wonderful. But I don't mind you asking questions or wanting to go for walks. Your discoveries are not less than mine. Mine may take longer, but yours are just as important. Besides, I like to answer."

Sephiroth never had anyone who wanted to answer his questions before. It gave him that butterfly feeling again, but this time it was more pleasant. He was excited, he realized. He finished reading about butterflies at the same time that Cass finished writing one page in her notebook. She sighed and looked up.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked. Sephiroth found he could answer this time.

"Yes," he said.

Cass had discovered a series of halls that they could walk through that would let them circle around it. Hojo had agreed upon that route and they circled around it once or twice on each walk. They received less looks in the hall and Cass fended off less remarks as they became part of the routine down in the labs. They were mostly alone for their walks anyway.

Perhaps that was what made Sephiroth feel like he could ask another ridiculous question.

"Do you think...I could be as smart as you?" Sephiroth asked. He had a distinct feeling Hojo would not like him asking this question.

"To be very honest, no," Cass said, "And I don't think you should be either. Being as smart as me isn't as great as it appears to be. But, I do think that you are very intelligent. You may not know as much as me, but you think things through much more carefully than people who believe themselves smarter than me. That's a rare gift at your age. So is your reading ability, though I think Hojo may have had a hand in that." Sephiroth nodded.

"Can you write as well?" she asked.

"My name," Sephiroth said.

"Hmmm," she mused, "I might ask Hojo to get you a notebook. Reading and writing go hand in hand. Or at least that's what I was taught."

"What would I write?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'll figure it out when and if we get to that point," she said, "Don't worry about that now." Sephiroth felt another question rising.

"How old are you?" he asked. It felt relevant and ridiculous at the same time.

"I am twenty years old," she said.

"You're fifteen years older than I am," Sephiroth said.

"Very good," she said.

"Does that make you young?" he asked.

"Well, younger than almost everyone else here," she said, "I'm second youngest person."

"Who's the first?"

"You," she said. They had returned to the office. He felt safe enough to ask one last question. It had to be the most ridiculous of them all.

"Do you really think I'm...intelligent?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, "I've seen nothing about you to tell me otherwise. You read much better than I could at your age. You're also very curious and despite whatever Hojo says, that's not a bad thing. You may not know much today, but you have a great capacity for a lot of things in the future and if you want intelligence to be one of them, I won't hold you back." Sephiroth felt that excitement thing again. Perhaps he did like Cass, he wasn't entirely sure.

"Can I read a different book?" he asked.

"I think I already said yes," Cass said.


	6. Chapter 6

Sephiroth went over to Cass's office on his own. Hojo had sent him over, but hadn't sent anyone else with him. It was inevitable that Hojo would eventually disagree with wasting one of his workers to send Sephiroth on his way. Sephiroth didn't mind. He knew the way by now and the other assistants were annoying.

He knocked on the door and opened it.

"Good morning Sephiroth," Cass said after a glance thrown back. Sephiroth stopped in his tracks.

Cass had her hair all the way down. The only sign of her attempting to tie it back was that she had pulled her bangs to the sides to let it trail down with the rest of it. His guess on it's length had been a bit off, it stretched all the way to her waist.

He made his way over to his chair, absolutely transfixed. If Cass noticed, she did not remark upon it. She writing quite vigorously in her notebook. Sephiroth couldn't stop staring.

Her hair was brown, but with it down the way it was, it was a very lovely brown to look at. When she moved her head as she wrote, small bits of light moved on it and made different shades pop up. Bits of gold, streaks of dark, and a lot of a shade that was somewhere in between. It looked very soft and shiny. Some of it spilled over her shoulder when she bent over a little. It moved like water.

Every little movement she made sent ripples down the stream of hair. Sephiroth was mesmerized by it. Cass looked over at some point and must have seen something strange about his expression.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Sephiroth shook his head. She stood up to move closer. She often knew when something was on his mind, but Sephiroth was not impressed by that ability at the moment. Her hair was even more lovely up close.

"Are you sure?" she said, "You look like you have something on your mind." It felt like something was building up in the back of his throat. He swallowed before answering.

"Your hair is pretty," he said, hoping desperately that pretty meant what he thought it meant. Cass blinked once, then a slow smile spread across her face. It looked a little shy.

"Uh...thanks?" she said. She seemed to be at a loss for what to say. Sephiroth knew the desire behind the words he said next was there, he just didn't think they would come out.

"Can...can I...touch it?" he asked. She blinked again. She swallowed once.

"Uh...sure," she said. She sat down on the ground near him. Nervously, he reached out draw a finger down it. It was very soft and silky. When Cass continued to let him, his finger grew to two, then his entire hand. He dipped his fingers into in and let it slide through them. It was a very pleasant sensation.

Cass sat as still as she could, unsure of what exactly was happening. She was certain she was crossing some sort of boundary by letting this happen, but a quick glance behind her showed a Sephiroth who looked overjoyed. She doubted whether he would ever look like that again. She let it happen. Let the kid have his moment.

Sephiroth stopped, a little reluctantly. He wasn't aware of any rules forbidding him to touch other people's hair, but he also had never asked before. Cass looked a little uncomfortable too. He let the last few strands fall back. Cass turned around.

"Is it too early for a walk?"

* * *

 

Gast pondered over Sephiroth's latest request for quite some time. Then he ran into his favorite assistant and nearly doubled over laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," Gast gasped, "you'll just never believe what Sephiroth asked to do."

"I'm shocked that he asked for anything," she said, "What's the little fella want?" Gast eyed his assistant's long mane of hair with a slight smirk.

"He wants to grow his hair out," Gast said.

"You're shitting me," Cass said. Her face paled a little. Gast started laughing again.

"Here's the best part," Gast said, "Hojo approves."

"You have got to be joking," Cass said.

"I'm not," Gast said, "Sephiroth asked Hojo if he could grow his hair out and Hojo said yes."

"Oh Good Goddess on a stick," Cass said. She looked genuinely concerned with that. "Has Hojo seen...?"

"No," Gast said, "I doubt he even cares where Sephiroth got the notion. He was probably imagining how it would look on him, once he grows up I mean."

"Now that I think about it...absolutely fabulous," Cass said, then she sighed. "If I had known this would make such an impression on him..." she trailed off, for once at a loss for what to say.

"Don't look too far into it," Gast said, "Sephiroth tends to fixate on things he hasn't seen before and...let's face it, you have the nicest hair here."

"Glad to contribute somehow," she said with heavy sarcasm. He laughed again.

"It will fade," Gast assured her, "and be proud. Sephiroth doesn't hand out compliments easily."

"I do try," she admitted, "I do try."

* * *

 

Cass had her hair down for a few more days, then it was back up in it's normal tightly knit style. By then the novelty had worn off for Sephiroth, but he still appreciated knowing that Cass's hair was that pretty. He felt more comfortable tossing that word around.

He liked that she let him read. Most of her books were fairly boring. He couldn't understand a lot of them. They had a lot of those lines with the mixed up numbers and letters. Cass assured him that no one expected him to understand Calculus or Trigonometry at his age, or even at all. She had a few that were easier and one large set that she called Encyclopedias. That was where the butterfly information had come from.

She let him pick what he wanted to try. At first he bounced around all of them. Then he decided for himself which ones were interesting and which were too dry or difficult to attempt.

Cass was never upset when he asked for a pronunciation or a definition. She found another book called a Dictionary that helped a little, but he liked her to answer for him. She explained it better than the dictionary and would always explain again if he didn't understand the first time.

Cass had asked for and received a notebook from Hojo. That evening Hojo had drilled Sephiroth as to what sort of books Cass let him read, but seemed satisfied with the answers Sephiroth gave. Cass told Sephiroth to go ahead and write his name in the notebook. He wrote it on the inside cover in an unsteady hand.

He glimpsed the inside of Cass's notebook. He didn't understand a single thing she had written, but he did notice that her handwriting was a lot nicer than his. He pointed that out and asked her to write his name on the front cover. She had hesitated, but did it for him in the end.

She had dug out pages with letters written large and legibly for him. She suggested he copy it until he felt comfortable writing them. They were still not as nice as Cass's, but they were getting better. Cass told him that the notebook was for practice and it wasn't necessary for him to be perfect. He liked that too.

The days were now spent with less idle sitting and Sephiroth was pleased with that. He felt less restless on the days he was with Cass. They still sat in relative silence most of the time, broken up by their walks and the occasional snack, always provided by Cass and always devoured with satisfaction. Sephiroth was satisfied with the silence. It was a productive silence after all.

* * *

 

Sephiroth was aware that Professors Hojo and Gast had been arguing for a long time about the injection. Sephiroth had a lot of them, but this one was apparently bigger. Gast didn't want to do it. Hojo did.

"We've never tested this amount of mako on a human safely before," Gast said, "I'm loath to attempt it."

"Sephiroth has handled even the largest of your so called enhancements with ease," Hojo replied, "He will handle my own and then some."

In the end, of course, Hojo won. Gast was very displeased with that. He continued to ask that Hojo dilute the mixture to no avail. On the day of the injection, Gast could hardly bring himself to observe what was going to happen. For the first time, Hojo was truly putting Sephiroth's life at risk. He was glad he did see it, in the end, if only because he saw a mountain bend to the wind.

Or Hojo bend to Cass.

"We will keep an eye on Sephiroth," Hojo said, "There's no need for you to be here."

"I'm certain there isn't," she said, "I'm merely assuming that Sephiroth will be recovering in my company afterwards and am offering to be his escort since you have stopped giving him any."

"Your assumption is correct," Hojo said, "but I see no use for you, especially if you're going to crowd the exam room."

"I would never presume to do that," Cass said, "I'm asking to be present, not necessarily in the room. And I do have a use. I did start in the infirmary working on the mako poisoning patients. If something should go wrong, I can help to prevent Sephiroth from succumbing to poisoning or any other side effect."

"Nothing will go wrong," Hojo said.

"In my experience, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong," Cass said, "I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of disaster. I'd hate for Sephiroth to end up comatose because of mako poisoning." Hojo actually considered it for a moment. Cass went in for the kill.

"I just want a place in the observatory," she said, "I make no interruptions unless something does go wrong."

"Very well," Hojo said, "I'll have Gast save you a seat."

* * *

 

They had hooked up a lot more machines to him for this injection. The needle was a lot bigger too. Other than that, everything about today was familiar to Sephiroth. He felt no reason to be concerned. The assistants and Hojo paid more attention to the readings than to Sephiroth.

Up in the observatory, Sephiroth could see more people watching, including Professor Gast and Cass. Gast always came to these. Cass never did. They sat still and silent while everyone else whispered to each other. Cass gave him a small, surreptitious wave.

He didn't have a chance to return it as Hojo stepped in front of him, with the prepared injection.

This one burned more than the previous ones and it didn't go away. The burning started to spread everywhere. It hurt, but it wasn't the worst thing Sephiroth had felt. Hojo and the technicians where back watching the machines.

When did the lights get so bright?

Why was there something banging around his ears?

For a long time, he had to sit like that, veins on fire, eyes watering and ears pounding. He couldn't focus on anything. It all looked like one bright blur. Voices sounded loud and foreign at the same time. He was not aware of Hojo asking him anything. He probably couldn't have answered if he was.

Then his feet were touching something cold and hard. Every movement he made made the burning worse, but the cold was unbearable for some reason.

Then the pain started to fade a little. His joints felt less stiff and he could move more. He felt something slip under his arms and swoop him off the ground. He reflexively wrapped his arms around whatever had a hold of him. He was aware of a gentle swaying motion and softly speaking tones, but he didn't comprehend what was said. He closed his eyes to the bright lights.

* * *

 

Cass agreed with Gast that it was too soon for Sephiroth to be having a mako injection of that concentration. It was enough to put a good sized man in a coma. It was out of their hands though and they could only watch and pray that their intervention was not needed.

By some miracle she kept herself from flinching as the needle went in. Sephiroth hardly reacted at all at first. The observatory fell silent for once.

Cass knew from experience what to expect.

"Stage one of mako poisoning," she said, more to herself than anyone else, "A heightening of the senses. Aversion to bright light and loud sound. A burning sensation as the mako enters the bloodstream. Soreness, muscle spasms and cramps typically occur." They watched as Cass narrated what was happening before them.

"Stage two," she went on, "the critical stage. Possibility of loss of consciousness. If subject does not lose consciousness in five minutes, then he may be safely removed to the recovery stages. If subject loses consciousness continue on to stage three." _Stay awake, Sephiroth_.

"What's stage three?" someone asked behind her.

"Subject falls into a vegetative state. It is recommended to attempt to dilute the amount of mako within the subject," Cass said, "If such attempts do not work, then patient slips into stage four: death." No one said a word after that. The next five minutes, stretched on for eternity.

Sephiroth remained upright and fully conscious. He wavered just slightly and his face wore a grimace, but he remained somewhat alert. A good sign. After ten minutes, Hojo gave the all clear. Cass tried not to sprint down the stairs. Gast was right behind her. They had gotten Sephiroth on the ground, but he was unresponsive otherwise. He appeared to have trouble moving. He managed to shuffle forward anyway.

"I told you there would be no problems," Hojo said.

"He's still afflicted by mako poisoning," Cass said, "though I would allow the term side-effect for the level he reached." Hojo scoffed at her.

"I am telling you, not asking, telling you that Sephiroth will be unable to perform the most basic tasks for the rest of the day," Cass said. Hojo nodded.

"I have the information that I need," Hojo said. Cass bit back her snide remark as well as a scowl and guided Sephiroth out of the room. When he stumbled she finally gave in and picked him up. He wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder for the walk over to her office.

Gast was already there waiting for them. He'd arranged the chairs to make a makeshift bed for him. Cass started to pull Sephiroth off, then stopped with a light laugh.

"He's got a hard grip," she said.

"Here, let me help," Gast said. He tried to pry Sephiroth's fingers apart. "I'm worried I might break his fingers," he said after a moment.

"Leave it," Cass said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, let the kid rest. He deserves it."


	7. Chapter 7

Sephiroth woke up and shifted his head. It took a moment for him to realize where he was. It wasn't a place where he normally woke up. It was a lot warmer for one. He was also semi-vertical. He blinked away the fuzziness that came with sleep and saw Cass's office. She had dimmed the lights.

He realized what he had been sleeping on was Cass's shoulder. He also realized that he didn't really want to move. He turned a little. Cass hadn't really noticed he was awake yet.

And she smelled nice.

He closed his eyes again.

When he opened them, they were moving. He could hear Gast in the background.

"No, it okay," she replied, "It's normal for him to be this tired." Were they talking about him? He shifted a little more. His voice was crackly from not being used.

"Sephiroth?" Cass asked.

"Cold," he said. A shiver went through him.

"I'm gonna set you down," she said. He felt his chair beneath him. He released Cass's neck and sank back into it. He blinked tiredly, not really focusing on anything.

"Come here," Cass's said. He felt something being pulled over his head. He tugged it on further. It was big and black, and very soft. It smelled like Cass. He peeked out as Cass peered it. She smiled at him and he blinked sleepily again.

"Tired?" she asked. He nodded. He curled back up and felt his eyes close again.

* * *

 

Gast watched Cass make sure Sephiroth was properly settled. He looked...well...adorable. Cass had dug out an old black hoodie and it was humongous on him. He was snuggled, there was no other word for it, deep inside and fast asleep again.

Cass had spent a good hour telling him what reactions to mako to expect. Fatigue was the most common, but it rarely lasted more than a few hours. He might be cranky later. He might be nauseous. He might be perfectly fine. It was different for each person, but the reaction would matter less and less with each injection. It was safe to give that amount to Sephiroth, though ill advised.

Cass was efficient in her care. Well practiced for sure. He had found her in the infirmary after all. She would know about mako poisoning. Sephiroth was in good hands. He couldn't help himself. He hoped, just the tiniest bit, that the look she gave the boy was just the slightest bit affectionate.

"He'll be just fine," she said, once again, "he's quite the trooper."

"Yes, he is," Gast agreed. _Too much so._ "Now," he said, reluctantly pulling Cass away from Sephiroth, "What did you want to tell me about this equation of yours.

* * *

 

When Sephiroth woke again, his first thought was that he was in a chrysalis. He quickly dismissed the notion when he remembered that a chrysalis was not made out of cloth and that he was most definitely not a butterfly. It probably had something to do with the pictures he saw while he was sleeping. They were already fading, but he still remembered the picture of the butterfly in them.

He snuggled even deeper into the hoodie, quite satisfied with where he was. He could hear muffled voices outside, but didn't care to listen. He just wanted to stay where he was. A noise came out of his nose, that he didn't recall making ever before, but it was a pleased noise. The voices stopped.

"Sephiroth?" Cass's voice called. He peered out. She and Gast were looking at him. "You alright in there?" He nodded and sank back in, the noise came out again. It was fun to make.

"Is he okay?" Gast asked.

"He's fine," she said, "It's starting to wear off. He's doped up now. They were always amusing to watch at this point. He'll be goofy for an hour or more, then he'll be back to his normal self. You can take him with you when you leave. It's probably best to keep him in a familiar place." Gast nodded then turned back.

"Are you sure you can find it?" Gast asked.

"I'm not sure I can find anything," Cass said, "It's only speculation like I said."

Sephiroth let them talk. He didn't feel much like moving anyway

He faintly remembered someone pulling him out and carrying him away, but the next memory he truly had was waking up in his own bed.

* * *

 

He didn't see Cass for a while. Hojo wanted to do all sorts of tests after the injection. He was very pleased with the results though. Sephiroth didn't have to do any of them more than once and he didn't get as many bruises. That probably meant that Hojo would make harder tests in the future.

When he was sent off to see Cass again, Sephiroth was excited. It pleased him that he knew what the feeling was called and what it meant. He was excited to see her again, even if all they did was sit there it meant that Sephiroth could ask more questions and didn't have to do any tests.

"Good morning Sephiroth," Cass said.

"Good morning," Sephiroth responded. It was his first time trying to. He hoped he did it right.

"How are you?" Cass asked.

"Normal," Sephiroth said. That was the reply Hojo usually expected. Cass smirked a little.

"Good," she said. He moved over to his chair and sat down. Cass had left the last book he had attempted to read within reach, he picked it up and started again.

He wanted to go for a walk earlier than usual, but Cass didn't seem to mind. He was walking a little faster too, Cass upped her own pace. They ended up extending their walk to four circles, but they did it in the same amount of time. Cass didn't seem to mind about that either.

They resumed their regular activities. Then Cass stopped and shut her notebook. Sephiroth looked up. This was a disturbance to the routine. She stood up and walked over to her window. She shook her head, but she had a smile on her face. What had happened?

"Did you solve it?" Sephiroth asked.

"Only a small part," she said, "This is much more complex than I thought it would be. It's simply marvelous." She added another line to the bottom, another equation that Sephiroth didn't understand. Then she got another notebook and started all over again.

"What does that mean?" Sephiroth asked.

"It means that I can make a timeline out of this if I want," she said, "but it also means that I can make other things, I just don't know what they are."

"That's what you're trying to figure out?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes," she said. Sephiroth settled back down, satisfied with the answer and that their routine had been re-established. He started trying to perfect writing the letter "S" again. His were still very jagged.

* * *

 

Sephiroth came in after knocking. She had the wires in her ears again and didn't respond until the door closed. She turned around.

"Hello Sephiroth," she said. He didn't respond. He didn't think she could hear him. He went over to his chair and started reading again. He found an encyclopedia that talked about lightning, which was really interesting. He could faintly hear what she was listening to.

It was distracting and intriguing at the same time. His fingers set the book aside and his feet brought him over to where Cass was sitting, He tugged at her coat to get her attention. She turned down towards him.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Just music," she replied. He blinked at her.

"You can hear me?" he asked.

"No," she said, "I don't need to hear you to understand you." He blinked again. She pulled out the wires with a laugh. "I'm confusing you aren't you?" He blinked. She laughed again.

"A very special woman once told me that not all words can be spoken," she said, "She couldn't hear. I had to find other ways to talk to her and she had to find other ways to listen."

"How?" Sephiroth asked. How could you speak without speaking?

"Well, she could tell what I was saying by the shapes my mouth made," Cass explained, "she taught me too. She also taught me how to talk with my hands." Sephiroth looked at her incredulously. She smiled and made strange movements with her hands.

"I spelled your name," she explained. His eyes got wide.

"Can you...show me?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, "Copy after me." She did them slowly so that he could follow. She named each letter as she instructed it.

"S-E-P-H-I-R-O-T-H," she said. He did it again, watching as his own hands spelled out the letters in a foreign tongue. She smiled as he repeated it over and over.

"Do you want to learn something else?" she asked. He nodded with wide green eyes. He wanted to learn this secret language.

Much later, Sephiroth stood in front of a mirror and repeated what Cass had taught him.

"I am Sephiroth," he told himself without saying a word.


	8. Chapter 8

The days passed easily. Sephiroth was content when he was with Cass. She continued to teach him her silent language and they could now have short conversations. He asked most of the questions since he didn't know as much. It never ceased to amaze him that something like this could exist. It was almost better than rain. Almost.

No matter how busy she appeared to be Cass would always stop for Sephiroth, whether it be to walk or merely to talk with him. Despite her insistence otherwise, Cass did seem to know everything and nothing was really restricted as far as he had asked. Only once did Cass tell Sephiroth she could not tell him something. She had told him he'd better ask Hojo for that information.

He'd asked what his date of birth was.

Hojo had told him: The 28th of March. Sephiroth didn't know what to do with that sort of answer. He'd gone to Cass with a different version.

"What is your date of birth?" he asked.

"I was born on March 28th," she replied. He looked up at her.

"Hojo said mine was on the 28th of March," Sephiroth said. She smiled again.

"We share the same birthday then," she said.

"What does that mean?" Sephiroth asked.

"It means that on the 28th day of the month of March you will be six and I shall be twenty-one," she said. Still fifteen years apart, Sephiroth noted, but was satisfied with that sort of answer.

They did the big injections regularly now. Gast still didn't like them. Reluctantly, Hojo now asked Cass to be present for them. Sephiroth's ability to handle them was growing, but very slowly. He recovered faster each time, but still needed someone to watch him afterwords. Cass did it best and Sephiroth was obviously calmer when she was present.

After the injection, Sephiroth always found himself snuggled in the big black sweater. He asked Cass why she had it, when it was so old and obviously didn't fit.

"The cuddle factor," she replied, "there isn't another article of clothing in the world that's half as comfortable as that thing." He didn't disagree and burrowed further inside.

Sephiroth let the days bleed into a contented flow. He didn't know what happy was or what it felt like, or he would have called his emotion that. Only Hojo broke up the warm feeling, but only briefly.

But like many other things, it seemed to come to an end.

* * *

 

"Were you followed?"

"Why pick such a place to meet?"

"Were. You. Followed."

"No. Why so secretive? Why are you searching the alley? What did you call me here for?"

"I don't want anyone else to hear this, that's why. Are you certain that no one followed you?"

"Positive. I doubled back at least eight times. What is this about Cass?"

"...I found her."

"You...she's real? She's alive and well?"

"No, I talked to her ghost. Yes she's alive."

"You found her?"

"I talked to her."

"You really found her? From that equation, you found the last Cetra?"

"Her name is Ifalna, and yes, I found her from that equation."

"How? No...don't tell me. Is there any proof of this?"

"It's been reduced to ashes. All that's left is locked deep inside my head."

"...If Hojo found out-"

"That's why the secrecy. If you did your job right, no one but the two of us know."

"Why tell me then?"

"You don't want to meet her?"

"She agreed to this?"

"She agreed to meet with me and a friend of mine. I didn't tell her who you were. I'm not good at this negotiation stuff. I just do the math."

"What happens if she agrees?"

"You leave ShinRa. Duh."

"What about you?"

"What about me? This is what you've been looking for Gast. I lost track of what my dream was a long time ago."

"What about Sephiroth?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

* * *

 

It hit Sephiroth suddenly, the news that Professor Gast was leaving. It hurt to breathe knowing that he was leaving. Hojo would be put in a stronger position, a much darker thought hit him.

If Gast was leaving, then Cass...

He didn't know how he got away from the current technician. Perhaps he had been let go on purpose. He didn't care. All he could think of was how his throat got tight as he thought of Cass leaving too. He wove his way to the familiar office. He barged in without knocking.

"Sephiroth!" Cass said. She was packing some things up. No...

"Professor Gast is leaving," Sephiroth choked out.

"Yes," she said, "Professor Gast is leaving." Something hot and wet spilled over his cheeks. He didn't bother to find out what they were.

"I don't want you to go," he said.

"Sephiroth..." Cass said. He bowed his head against her as more hot liquid fell.

"Please don't go," he said. A hand fell on his head.

"Sephiroth," Cass said, "I'm not leaving." He looked up. "Professor Gast has wanted to leave for a long time," she said, "he hired me to help him and I did. Now other people want the same help. I'm not leaving." Sephiroth looked at her in disbelief.

"You aren't leaving?" he said.

"No," Cass said, "I'm staying." He bowed his head again and started heaving deep breaths of relief. Cass was staying. She was staying. She was here.

He felt himself being picked up, something that was always unpleasant unless it was after a difficult injection, but he allowed it. She sat down and cradled him and he let her, because it felt good. Better than the sweater. She ran gentle fingers through his growing hair and it felt nice. He felt his own hands reach around her shoulders. He stayed up on her lap for a long time, just making sure she was there.

* * *

 

"Cass...why?"

"I can't leave. Not now."

"I would take you on."

"I know, but...I was offered a job. High pay. Under Hojo, but still somewhat separate."

"You're working for Hojo?"

"Technically I'm an outside contractor on speed-dial. I have the opportunity to turn down work if I so choose, but there's such an overload that it won't matter much anyway. It would look suspicious if I turned down a lucrative offer. They might suspect."

"...I'm worried for you."

"Don't be. I knew there was a chance I would get caught while doing it. Now that it's done, I'll take this to my grave."

"Will you look after Sephiroth?"

"Of course I will."

"You stayed for him too, didn't you?"

"He came into my office today. He started crying."

"He cried?"

"He begged me not to go. If I hadn't already said yes, I would have after that. I just can't leave him with that madman."

"He adores you. You know that."

"I know. I have to get him out of there."

"How are you planning on doing that. ShinRa has invested far too much into him to let him go now."

"I have to at least get him out of that lab, away from Hojo for good."

"How were you planning on doing that?"

"I don't know, but I have to try...I guess this is goodbye then."

"I'm really going to miss you."

"Ifalna will distract you. I never told you anything. I don't know what you are planning on doing."

"I will always be grateful for that."

* * *

 

Hojo was put in charge of the Science Department. Cass laid low. She was good at that, flying under the radar. Hojo remembered all of her past transgressions, but they were ignored after the Decimal Incident.

Hojo started more experiments on other human subjects. Mostly the effects that mako had on them. Cass had interrupted one particular experiment with one oh-so-important detail.

"Your decimal is off by three points," she said. Hojo started a tirade on how only the professionals could have a say in his laboratory and that she should mind her own business.

"That's fine, but don't come crawling back to me when you blow up your laboratory," she said and walked away.

Hojo blew up his laboratory. Rather spectacularly. He didn't apologize, but Cass did manage to sneak in a comment on how she was unable to bribe her way into getting a doctorate. There was a tense understanding between the two at that point. Hojo had accepted Cass's genius, reluctantly, but nonetheless.

There was no order that Cass needed to watch Sephiroth anymore. He spent all of his free time with her anyway. She had more to work on and he was more reluctant to interrupt her anymore, but she still made time for him. Her equation had fallen to the wayside, but sometimes she scribbled in her notebooks and Sephiroth knew that she still thought about it.

They had longer conversations now, both vocally and silently. Cass was patient with him, gentle yet quick to correct. Sephiroth asked her all about it.

"Why did you want to talk to the woman?" he asked, "the one who couldn't hear?"

"She was nice to me," Cass said.

"Was she your friend?" Sephiroth asked.

"She was more than that," Cass replied.

"Who was she?" Sephiroth asked.

"Her name was Aurore," Cass said, "We lived together for a long time. Long before I met you." Cass didn't really like to talk about herself that much and Sephiroth was fine with that. She didn't ask him about how he felt and he didn't want her to. He let her do the same.

On rare occasions, when the testing had been particularly brutal, he came up to Cass and crawled back into her lap. He never said anything. He didn't need to. He just needed the contact. He needed to know that not everything was harsh and cold. He needed to know that someone wouldn't be afraid of him after what he'd done. He'd felt it once and needed to feel it again, like the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied earlier. I'm sorry Cloud's big first mission in Raven of SOLDIER is taking so long. I'd post my half-assed first draft, but that's not how I wanna do it. Raven!Cloud deserves better.


End file.
